SUNRISE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Florida’s Sam Reinhart scored four goals to help the Florida Panthers clinch their second straight Stanley Cup Final with a 5-1 victory against the visiting Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 on Tuesday night in South Florida.

Reinhart scored on all four shots he took to become the first player with four goals in a Stanley Cup Final since Montreal’s Maurice “Rocket” Richard in 1957. Reinhart finished with seven goals in the last four games of the series.

Matthew Tkachuk also scored for the Panthers, who are the third team to repeat as Stanley Cup champions in the past 10 years.

Sergei Bobrovsky came within 4:42 of his fourth shutout of the 2025 playoffs before Vasily Podkolzin scored for the Oilers. Bobrovsky finished with 28 saves.

Stuart Skinner made 20 saves for the Oilers, who also lost to the Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final last season.

A team from Canada has not won the Cup since 1993.

The Panthers scored the first goal for the fifth straight game.

Edmonton was outshooting Florida 5-0 when Reinhart stole the puck from defenseman Evan Bouchard at his own blue line. He then juked past Mattias Ekholm at the top of the right circle before scoring over Skinner’s glove for a 1-0 lead at 4:36.

The Panthers added to their lead in the final minute of the opening period. Eetu Luostarinen pulled up above the right circle in the Edmonton zone off a rush and waited for Tkachuk, who had just jumped onto the ice.

After receiving Luostarinen’s pass, Tkachuk brought the puck to the high slot before hitting the top right corner of the net with a wrist shot, giving Florida a 2-0 lead with 47 seconds left in the period.

Florida outscored the Oilers 13-4 in the opening period during the series.

Florida made it 3-0 at 17:31 of the second.

Carter Verhaeghe took a wrist shot from along the boards and above the right circle that hit Skinner in the chest. The rebound came out diagonally to Aleksander Barkov cutting through the left circle, and his feed to Reinhart cutting to the opposite post went off his left skate blade and into the Edmonton net.

The Oilers pulled Skinner with about seven minutes left and Reinhart scored into the empty net for a 4-0 lead with 6:24 remaining, giving him the first playoff hat trick in Panthers history.

He wasn’t finished, as Edmonton pulled Skinner again and Reinhart scored into the empty net to make it 5-0 with 5:05 left.

–Field Level Media

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SUNRISE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Edmonton Oilers could have returned home a loss away from falling to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final for a second straight year.

Instead, they have a chance to put themselves one win away from a championship when they host the Panthers for Game 5 on Saturday.

It didn’t look like they would be in this position after Florida staked a 3-0 lead in the first period of Game 4 on Thursday. But the Oilers rallied to take a 4-3 advantage and, after the Panthers tied it in the dying seconds, Leon Draisaitl clinched it in overtime to give the visitors the 5-4 win.

The best-of-seven series is tied 2-2.

“I mean, everybody knows what the crowd’s going to be like, Saturday night in Alberta, it’s going to be exciting,” veteran Edmonton winger Corey Perry said. “But I think I’ve talked about this a lot: We’re mature and I think after that first period last night it showed we’re a mature hockey team. I don’t expect anything else.”

The 40-year-old helped spark the Oilers with some words of wisdom after the first period. He’s also been delivering on the ice with nine goals in the playoffs, second only to Draisaitl. Perry, who is playing in the Stanley Cup Final for the fifth time in the past six seasons, has 140 points (63 goals, 77 assists) in 235 career playoff games.

“He’s been so valuable for us,” Edmonton defenseman Mattias Ekholm said of Perry. “He’s a leader and he knows exactly when to step in there. He doesn’t do it all the time but when he does, it’s always great and gets everybody’s attention.

“I mean, it was good from him last night again, both on the ice and in the locker room. It’s what we expect out of him. He’s getting up there, but he’s still got it.”

The Panthers, meanwhile, are turning the page after the loss. They’ve been here before: Last year, Edmonton erased Florida’s 3-0 series lead to ultimately force a Game 7.

“We’re calm and confident,” Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling said. “If we play our game, we know we’re going to win most games. … The good thing is, we have a game tomorrow, so we’re ready to bounce right back. We’re very excited to get back.”

It’s been an incredibly tight series thus far, with three of the four games going to overtime. Florida’s power play has helped fuel the defending Cup champions, going 7-for-21 with the man advantage.

It could be the edge the Panthers need to regain the series lead; the Oilers have scored just four times on 20 power-play opportunities.

“A lot of the success in postseason is how you handle your losses,” Florida forward Sam Reinhart said. “They’re going to happen, especially when you get down to the last two teams. You’ve got two of the best teams going at it. So you’ve got to expect to lose at some point. There’s a lot we can learn from and come back strong in Game 5.”

Edmonton has not announced a starting goalie for Game 5. Stuart Skinner was pulled after allowing three goals on 17 shots in the first period in Game 4. He was also pulled early in the third period of the 6-1 loss in Game 3.

–Field Level Media

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SUNRISE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Edmonton Oilers showed their disdain for losing with some late-game antics in Monday’s Game 3 loss to the Florida Panthers.

Now, the Oilers must find a way to turn their angst into a victory or risk falling into a dangerously deep hole when they resume the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday in South Florida.

With the Panthers leading 2-1 in the best-of-seven series, the next clash could either send the series back to Edmonton all-square — and with the Oilers regaining the home-ice advantage — or put the Panthers on the cusp of a second consecutive title against the Oilers.

“We’ve always been a good team at coming back out with a strong effort,” Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl said of turning the page from Monday’s 6-1 loss. “Obviously it was not our best showing, not our best game, but we have a great chance … to show what our team is all about.”

Edmonton must do more than just talk about a better performance. The Oilers reached this point thanks to an improved defense to go with their high-octane attack, but they have been undisciplined in the finals and have struggled keeping pucks out of their net.

Goaltender Stuart Skinner is under the microscope having surrendered 13 goals in the series, and boasting an .866 save percentage. But the Oilers as a whole must find another gear to send the series back to their home on even ground.

“It’s one game. We’re looking for the whole series,” Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “We know we’re down 2-1 and we gotta be better next game … but we’re one win away from having the best-out-of-three (series) with two home games.”

Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said Wednesday there probably will be a lineup change. Troy Stecher is a possibility to move in for defenseman John Klingberg, while Knoblauch would not divulge who will start in goal.

Although they lead the series, the Panthers will look forward and not gloat over their early series lead.

Sure, Florida played a fantastic game, but the message from coach Paul Maurice is to park that victory and prepare to earn the next one because he does not believe momentum carries forward to the next outing.

“Every game starts at zeros, and it’s a reset and it’s a mental reset,” Maurice said. “We got beat 8-1 in Edmonton (in Game 4 during last year’s finals) and then came back and played Game 5 here, and for me that was the best game we played in the entire playoffs and we lost the game.”

After the Panthers slammed the door against Edmonton’s dynamic duo, they had best be ready for Edmonton’s best effort. Draisaitl was held without a shot attempt for the Oilers and Connor McDavid managed only a pair of shots and no points.

“The experience of taking a beating and then being able to come back and play your next game lets you know (character is) there,” Maurice said. “It’s also what we expect from Edmonton.”

What bodes well for the defending Stanley Cup champions is that a pair of top-tier players had their best game of the series in Game 3.

Sam Reinhart, who has been playing through an injury during the Eastern Conference finals against the Carolina Hurricanes, scored once in a two-point outing. Captain Aleksander Barkov has been held without a point in the series but was instrumental in Reinhart’s goal by creating a turnover that led to the score.

“I always can be better but all I’m thinking about is winning the game,” Barkov said.

–Field Level Media

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